


Fortunes

by bluesargenttt



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Angst, Book 1: The Cruel Prince, Book 2: The Wicked King, Book 3: The Queen of Nothing, Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 16:47:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesargenttt/pseuds/bluesargenttt
Summary: Words, now weathered with age, come to mind. About how love feels so much like fear. Maybe this new kind of fear that I feel in the pit of my stomach is no different.
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	Fortunes

The moon is high in the sky on the night of the summer festival. 

Baphen foretold of this year’s solstice, how the full moon will wax and wane, completing a full month’s cycle in the span of mere seconds. 

It is said that such a celestial event is a sign of great change. Last time I was told the stars’ fortunes, I was armored and riding into battle for the crown. It has been eight years since Cardan rose from the black scales of the Blood Crown Serpent. Our reign has entered a period of peace, and for the first time in ten years I’ve been able to breathe a little easier. I shudder at the thought of another prophecy yet to unfold, another kingdom to conquer. 

We sit at the dais, our hands entwined as the folk feast and revel below. I peer up into the night sky, contemplating the moon, wondering at the plans she may have in store. 

Cardan, ever observant, tugs at my fingers. When I turn to meet his eyes, he flashes me one of his quicksilver smiles. After so many years of marriage, I am attuned enough to see the question in his dark eyes. 

I cannot help returning his smile, my hand squeezing his vice-like grip. “I was just thinking about Lord Baphen’s reading from today.” 

“Ah, ‘a sign of great change’”. He mimics the councilman, stroking an invisible beard with a pensive look on his face. I inadvertently snort. So many times have I marveled at his ability to ease my anxieties, to make me laugh when my thoughts overwhelm me. 

“Yes, you absolute menace. I’m trying to puzzle what he meant.” Cardan’s eyes bore into mine, the mirth disappearing behind his concern. Just as the King and Queen of Elfhame are tied to the land, so we are tied to each other. What hurts one maims the other. 

“Know that we have paid our dues, Jude. Although I can hardly blame you, you have been raised to fear and expect the worst. Baphen did not say whether the change to come would be destructive. Let us see, what comes next might not be a curse.” He smiles again, this one empty of all mischief. 

Tears well up in my eyes as I consider the man before me. We were children once, roping each other into petty slights. Although his plays were cruel, and despite my initial impressions of Cardan, he has proven to be the most honorable and formidable man I have ever known. If I was destined to live my life by his side, maybe the stars don’t have tragedy in store for me after all.  
____

As the night wears on, the revelers grow quieter in anticipation. Even the fairies and pixies of the lower courts, who take any opportunity to pick pockets and wreak havoc, take pause. 

From our thrones, Cardan nudges my foot with his affectionately before he inclines his head. I follow his gaze as the cycle begins. 

The night sky comes to life as the moon waxes and wanes, the star’s still as if they too are holding their breaths. As the cycle completes, the shimmer that emanates takes me by such surprise that I have to shield myself, my human eyes still so sensitive to the dark.

I open them to an opal crystalline moon twinkling above me. The folk erupt in whistles and applause and resume, the sound of their lutes and harps carrying into the night.  
____

By the time we arrive back at the palace, the sun has dawned. We are escorted back to our chambers, and I collapse on our bed before Cardan has dismissed the guards. I’d had an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach all night, which I had blamed on my nerves. However, as I sit in our bedroom, I wonder if there may be another cause for concern. 

Cardan settles next to me, his hands snaking their way around my hips as he pulls my back to his chest. I exhale, trying to fight the anxiety bubbling in my stomach. 

“You looked fit for ravishing tonight.” He murmurs into my ear, kissing the curve of it as his hands inch down to caress my thighs. 

My eyes close when he starts trailing kisses down my neck, and soon I turn around to meet his lips with mine. He is my tether, anchoring me when gravity seems to relinquish its hold. 

I am lost in our kisses when suddenly he draws away. His eyes dilate as he regards me, a hand coming to caress my cheek. 

“There’s still something bothering you,” he says, the rasp of his voice causing heat to pool in my belly. 

“I’ve been on edge all night. Nothing unusual.” I try to dissuade him, but just as I’ve become fit to read his tells, he has learned mine. 

“Jude.” As the words leave his lips, I feel the urge to get up. 

I rush to the bathroom, where I hurl into my chamber pot. Cardan wastes no time in rushing to my side, drawing comforting circles on the small of my back as I settle back onto my haunches. 

“I’m calling a healer.” I have little energy to stop him. 

Before I know it, Mother Marrow is at the door. The old hag pushes past him rather maliciously, but Cardan pays no mind as he practically runs to my side. I am fetched a pale of water and a warm towel. 

“Has she been poisoned?” Cardan’s concerned voice rings out amidst the silence. 

I know the symptoms of the different Faerie poisons like the back of my hand, thanks to my years of trying to grow immune. If it were in my system, I would be able to tell. “No.” I practically gag as I force my lips to form the words. 

“When was your last cycle?” As the old witch peers into my eyes, I swear I see the reflection of the waxing and waning opalescent moon reflected back at me. 

“Two moons ago.” Immediately, Cardan’s eyes trail down to my stomach. Taut with muscle, one could hardly tell there’s anything amiss. However there is no mistaking prophecy when it is enacted. 

Mother Marrow raises a hand to my abdomen, and the cool scrape of her claws makes me squirm. After a moment that feels like lifetimes, she lifts her eyes to Cardan, and then me. 

“My highnesses, you are bearing twins.” I cannot seem to grasp her words. 

My head is spinning as thoughts whirl in and out of my head. What does this mean for Oak? Will he remain heir to the throne? What about Cardan? Does he want children? Could this cause any tremors among the courts, threats to our power? 

However, the most terrifying question is that which concerns me. 

How could I ever be a good mother?  
____

I lie in bed as Cardan escorts Mother Marrow to the door, asking his questions and swearing her to secrecy for the time being. Plagued by my thoughts, I do little else than stare at the ceilings, looking for answers I know I cannot find. 

The bed dips as he lies down next to me. Once again – like ritual – he pulls me by my hips until my back is flush against his chest. His hand splays on my stomach, and I barely repress the urge to pry his fingers off. 

“What are you thinking?” I ask, my voice catching in my throat. My brain feels too foggy to try to discern anything of the situation. 

“I’m thinking about how terrified I am of becoming a father,” he whispers into the crook of my neck, hugging me tighter. 

I relax into his embrace, closing my eyes. Knowing that he too is just as scared as I am makes the anxiety ebb. My hands meet his on my stomach. He brings my hand to his lips, kissing the pulse at my wrist. 

We say little else. Soon we’re both swept into exhaustive sleep, but he does not once lift his hands from their place on my abdomen.  
____

We wake up at dusk. As we get dressed for the evening ahead, my mind scrambles to remember the events of the night before. The moon. The sickness. Mather Marrow’s fortune. 

With his doublet fastened and the crown sitting askew upon his brow, Cardan makes his way towards me. The look in his eyes suggests only the purest affection, and I am once again taken aback by the way my lungs expand with love for him. Every laborious breath I take. 

“Ready to meet the courtiers?” He interlaces our fingers and gives my hand a gingerly squeeze. 

My palms are sweating and my heart is beating fast. I remember the day I first stood naked before him. I was scared then too. Words, now weathered with age, come to mind. About how love feels so much like fear. 

Maybe this new kind of fear that I feel in the pit of my stomach is no different. 

“Yes.” I am reaching for the doorknob when his hand stills mine. His eyes rake over my face, looking for any signs of untruth or apprehension. I close the gap between us, mustering every ounce of my love and affection into the press of our lips. 

When we part, he settles his forehead against mine. 

We open the chamber doors, our motions in perfect sync.


End file.
